


Trouble and HeartStrings

by WordNerd04



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: #also has some of the space gays in it, #fluff, #its nice, #no one dies, #she her pronouns for pidge, #shidge, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-08
Updated: 2017-05-15
Packaged: 2018-10-16 07:29:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10566528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WordNerd04/pseuds/WordNerd04
Summary: They all knew there was trouble the moment Pidge stepped off her lion. They all trembled when she wiped off her glasses and looked up, a scowl visible on her face. Now, Pidge was the smallest member (despite the fact they were all now older), probably no taller than 5'3, but that expression right there made everyone feel tiny in comparison. Pidge Gunderson was a force to be reckoned with."TAKASHI SHIROGANE!"Or: Pidge and Shiro fight and both of them want to fix things but end up making it more complicated. Also the rest of the squad is trying to help.





	1. Making her mad

Shiro felt himself lose control over his arm. He could see what was happening, the normal purple glow (his standards for normal are probably very very wrong), was now switching to a red glow. His heart beats were beginning to ring far too loud for his ears and there was someone shouting. He looked up and found Pidge running towards him. He stood up, his legs wanting to give out, but Pidge was right there, running towards him and he was going to be okay. Except… maybe she wasn’t. 

“Run,” he could hear himself yell at her. She didn’t run, but she kept her distance. It didn’t take too long for the fact to register on her head. He didn’t have control over his arm. She sent him a nod and a smile.

“Pidge, RUN!” Another yell, this time it was followed by his arm swinging at her and barely missing her abdomen. Pidge didn’t remain too far though, she was on her toes, typing away on the small system on her arm. Was she hacking into his arm?  
“Don’t help me Pidge! Get away!” His arm sent a punch, only for Pidge to step away.  
“I won’t leave you,” she stated calmly, almost as if it was that simple. As if she wouldn’t get hurt by staying with him. After a couple more dodges, a kick and a punch that was far too close for comfort she managed to hack into his arm and delete whatever Galra system took over. They all got back to their lions and….  
Mission accomplished, Allura’s voice rang through their helmets.  
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

They all knew there was trouble the moment Pidge stepped off her lion. They all trembled when she wiped off her glasses and looked up, a scowl visible on her face. Now, Pidge was the smallest member (despite the fact they were all now older), probably no taller than 5'3, but that expression right there made everyone feel tiny in comparison. Pidge Gunderson was a force to be reckoned with.  


"TAKASHI SHIROGANE!" Shiro widened his eyes, and looked around only to find every single one of his friends avoiding his gaze. Great, his teammates were offering no help. Not that he needed it, but after that battle out there he wasn't quite in the best place to calm down Pidge, not when his brain was still running and spinning and his heart was still pounding against his chest.  


The girl was glaring at him. Shiro felt his hands begin to sweat.  


"You almost killed me."  


Shiro felt a lump in his throat. He did almost hurt her, and he regretted it. The Galra army had managed to somehow hack into his arm and use it against him. Pidge being Pigde was the only one who could stop it... right after trying to approach him and getting attacked by him. Shiro felt guilty about it, god what kind of leader was he if he couldn't even control his arm!? And why was Pidge so damn stubborn?  


"I know. I'm sorry, the Galra-" he was cut off when her hand was covering his mouth.  


"I'm going to improve your arm. Install a new system, probably redo some of its programs-" Shiro widened his eyes. Letting Pidge near his arm was nowhere near what he was going to let her do.  


"What? No!"  


"You didn't let me help you out there, but you have to let me help you here. I can make sure that-"  


"Pidge. I'm fine," Shiro knew that his response was bitter (and also a lie). But at this moment, talking about his proesthic arm and the galra wasn't something he was going to do. Much less let Pidge into his turmoil.  


"You are fine? Right, I guess almost hurting one of your team mates isn't concerning at all!"  


(Okay. She really shouldn't have said that. Very insensitive of her. VERY. She could see the hurt that flashed across his eyes as he took a step back. Quiznack! This wasn't going to end well. She already knew how insecure he was about his arm and how he cared about not hurting others with it... her bringing this up was one of her stupidest decisions ever.)  


"So what? Let you take care of me? Like you took care of your family?"  


If she felt sorry for spitting out whatever was said before, she wasn't anymore. Not when he stated that with anger and bitterness in his voice.  
It only took a second for him to know that he really messed up. It took about 10 more to know that everyone else knew it too. And it took about a minute to know that he was going to die. Right there. By the hands of Pidge.  


The girl was glaring at the floor, anger in her face and her hands were now fists, clenching and unclenching. Shiro counted the possibilities of how this was going to go down, all of them ending by a fist in his jaw. If not worse.  


"Katie, I'm-" In less than a tick, she grabbed his shirt, pulled him towards her and opened her mouth. (Not a fist in his jaw...yet)  


"Do not ever call me Katie again."  


And that was it. The green paladin turned on her heels and disappeared down the castle. And for anyone else, being prohibited from using a name shouldn’t have been a big deal, it was just a name. But Katie was different, Katie was reserved only for him to use. No Katie meant…. He didn’t even know what it really meant, but by the way it ached him he knew it was important.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Dude, what the-" Hunk was cut off my Shiro.  


"I know." Shiro had almost forgotten that everyone was there to watch their quarrel. Except for Coran and Allura, not that it made him feel any better. The room was getting to small for him, and his ears were ringing, (Do not ever call me Katie again Do not ever call me Katie again Do not ever call me Katie again). He shut his eyes, wanting nothing but to stop feeling for just a tick.  


"I was thinking she was going to punch you," Keith muttered, only to receive a hum in agreement from Shiro. He thought so too, and he was sure even a punch from her wouldn’t have hurt nearly as much as the words that she gave him instead.  


"Well, even I couldn't have messed up worse than that," Lance stated. Shiro groaned, knowing that Lance was right. Lance was right. Wow, that must explain a lot about his situation.  


"I can't deal with this right now." He walked away, leaving everyone behind and ignoring the glances of Coran and Allura as he went past them. If his ache was anything to go by, he didn’t want to imagine how upset he must have made Kati- Pidge be. And he didn’t want to think about how he was the cause of it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The squad tries to help... maybe? Idk, its an update so enjoy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll update every 3 comments! (15 kudos?) Also thanks for your reviews!

Hunk cleared his throat once Shiro was out of the room and the silence was getting way too dense for everyone else.

"Soooo... who's gonna talk to Pidge?" Keith shrugged, popping the collar of his jacket up.

"Certainly not me," Lance said rapidly, "did you see her face?! She could murder someone right now and don't feel guilty. No sir, I know girls and they are hell when they are mad." Keith only shrugged, shook his head and walked out of there. Hunk sighed. (Not like Keith could have been much help to Pidge right now. _(No sir, chances are Keith would have only made Pidge more motivated to find revenge or something)._

“Did something happen to Shiro?” Allura asked as she entered and glanced around the room. It only took about a tick before Lance was retelling the fight between both of the paladins. Hunk only shook his head and excused himself. Guess he was going to be the one to talk to the green paladin.

The yellow paladin began to walk around the castle, trying to find where the green paladin went. Pidge always found the most intricate places to work at... It wasn't until he began to hear the low hum of a computer and some clicks followed by some groans that he realized Pidge was in her lab (like usual). His steps echoed throughout the empty hall, and he hope it served to announce his presence, startling her right now would not be a good idea.

He made his way inside the lab, finding the girl slumped over in her chair, her outfit now changed into casual sweatshirt and shorts.

"Hey Pidge, so-"

"Hunk," her tone was warning him not to push anything, reminding him that she was already pissed off. The guy only walked to her side, pulling a chair next to hers and yawning.

"How are you?" he asked after a moment of silence, watching her tinker with different circuits, and pressing all kind of buttons into her computer.

"Hunk, you were there, I was there. We both know what happened, and frankly, I would not like to relive that."

"Fair enough. What are you working on there?"

"New program. For his arm that is."

His arm? Hunk widened his eyes. Pidge was working on something for him already, but-

"Aren't you mad at him though?" Her laugh almost scared him. (Lance was right. At this moment Pidge looked about ready to murder anyone and he would be scared to be on the receiving end of her anger).

"Very. Furious actually." Hunk looked around, hoping that maybe Lance would appear and help him. Heck, if anyone knew how to handle problems related to Pidge, it was him. Lance was the one with sisters and cousins and aunts.

"If you are mad, then aren't you supposed to be... oh I don't know, planning revenge of something?" Pidge only rolled her eyes, continuing to install whatever software into a tabloid.

"Maybe. But he actually needs rewiring on his arm, whether he wants it or not. Plus it will help the team too. So I'm doing this for the team, not for him." Hunk hummed in agreement, leaning back on his chair.

"So is not related to any feelings?" Pidge widened her eyes and shot a glance at him, "You know, platonic... maybe more than pla-"

"What? Hunk. No." Hunk almost laughed at the young paladin and the looks she was shooting him. He only shrugged after he sensed the green paladin beginning to grow mad at him, that and the discomfort that was beginning to form.

"Just thought I should check."

"Well you did and now you know," she responded with a mocking smile.

_(Pidge wasn’t in the mood to talk about feelings, or Shiro, or anything related to the fact that his comment hurt like hell and she was sure it hurt even more because it came from him. Him.)_

"Great."

"Great!" Before Pidge could take her headphones and cue Hunk to leave her alone, she now found herself being pulled up from her chair and into a hug. She almost chuckled at the fact that Hunk was probably twice her size and his arms could probably wrap around her body more than two times.

"It's okay to cry, you know? I know his comment hurt," she heard Hunk whisper. Hunk could only feel the petite girl nod against him and cling her fingers tighter to his vest. Pidge felt her brain stop working and her heart begging to let her express something.

"I know it probably wasn't my place to say it, I mean, I messed up. I should've offered my help in another way but... he hurt me. A lot. He knows that I'm trying to get Matt and Sam back-" her tears never came, but her breaths began to feel like sobs and she was closing her eyes tightly.

"Hey, it’s okay. We know you are. And we are close," Hunk patted her hair, "just breathe right now, okay?"

"Thanks Hunk." The yellow paladin only smiled and continued rubbing her back. If Shiro wasn’t his friend, he certainly would be unleashing hell towards him.

* * *

 

"So, care to explain why we shouldn't be angry at you for hurting Pidge?" Shiro was sitting down in the training deck, only to be startled by that question. He looked up, only to find Keith and Lance glaring at him. Or actually, Lance was glaring at him. Keith just looked ready to punch someone, his arms crossed and his eyes narrowing at him.

"She- she hit a rough spot." Shiro heard a scoff come from one of the boys before each one sat by his side.

"Right. Look, I know your arm and Galra-"

"Lance," Keith called out his name, a warning tone in his voice.

"Right. Anyway, that's sensitive. We get it. Pidge should have probably known better than that. But-" Shrio felt someone elbow him in the stomach.

"What was that for!?"

"You still shouldn't have said that stuff about her family." Shiro sighed.

"I know." Keith only groaned before standing up.

"Great. So just apologize and no need for any more drama." Lance shoot him a smirk before he got on his feet and lend a hand for Shiro to do the same.

"I would just wait 'till tomorrow though. Clear your head and have a better chance at not getting your jaw punched." Shiro couldn't help but chuckle.

“Also, you are not gonna hurt her. She’s strong, stronger than any of us actually give her credit for,” Keith stated as strolled outside of the training deck. Shiro almost let himself gasp because, leave it to Keith to address him number one concern. As the boy began to walk away Shiro realized that Keith was right, Pidge was strong and smart and chances are he would be the one getting hurt before she did, but admitting that was not helping his heart beat any slower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> review!!! (please)


	3. That Weird Ache

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge is stubborn and mad, and Shiro wants to apologize.... but nothing ever goes as plannned, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments! loved them and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Next chapters are going to be longer. Also please review. (I'm shooting for 3 reviews? Please?)

Here’s a thing that happens way too often. Going to bed mad. Mad at yourself, mad at your parents, mad at someone else or even mad at just about everyone. _(At the world, at life)._

Pidge didn’t like that. Not one bit. But this time Takashi was proving to be a little bit harder to deal with right now. Gosh even his name infuriated her. So when she woke up the next day, she was still very much bitter towards the boy. She hated feeling mad, and she hated that it was directed towards Shiro because Shiro was an amazing person. But it only took about a minute to remember their conversation and well, the bitterness returned.

She took a shower, dressed and headed to the lab. Avoiding just about everyone sounded pretty well right now, plus skipping breakfast was nothing new. It took about 3 minutes for someone to realize that she wasn’t going to make it to breakfast. _(Which was record time actually, they would usually finish eating before fetching her)._

Pidge should’ve expected someone to come fetch her or bring her food. It was a routine now, one that she didn’t ask but always received. This time it was Hunk who bought her food… oh wait, Shiro was with him too. She widened her eyes as the second name was registered by her brain.

Shiro. Shiro. Takashi. Mad. Upset. Shiro.

Before they came too close to the lab and her brain could register what she was doing, she pressed the button that laid nearby and shut the doors closed. In their faces. Pidge almost groaned out loud. Feelings were out of her field and comfort zone. Reacting on impulse was definitely something she didn’t rely on.

_(and did she really just did that?)_

“PIDGE DID YOU JUST CLOSE THE DOOR IN OUR FACES!?”

_(Yup, she shouldn’t have done that. Not to Hunk at least.)_

“I WAS GOING TO GIVE YOU SOME FOOD!” Pidge could only grumble a few curse words before enabling her mic.

“Morning Hunk, yeah sorry about that. You can just leave it by the entrance or-“

“Pidge, open the door.” That sounded like an order from Shiro. She almost wanted to mock his voice before realizing that she should really just stop being mad. What was she, 15 years old?! She bit her bottom lip before letting out a breath.

“No.” Yeah, she wasn’t 15 anymore, but she didn’t wanted to see his face (Or well, she did but she wanted to stay mad… just a bit longer.)

“Pidge, that’s an-“

She let the door open and she stood up, crossing her arms before marching towards both of them. They both looked frustrated with her. She couldn’t blame them, honestly. She was frustrated at her damn emotions too.

“Sorry about that Hunk,” she grabbed the plate from his hands before exchanging a look with Shiro and walking away from them. She didn’t care that all of her equipment was back in the room she was walking away from. All she cared about was going away from Shiro.  

_(Not because of that weird ache near her heart. She was mad at him…. That was it.)_

* * *

 

“So how did it went? Have you and Pidge made up yet?”  This time it was Allura questioning him when they both got back to the dining room. Shiro shrugged as he sat down to finish his food goo. He really shouldn’t have expected it to go down easy. If Pidge was something, she was stubborn, (like her brother).

“Pidge is avoiding him. Not subtly, I might add,” Hunk stated as he went around the counter and began to clean up his kitchen.

“I told you so!” Shiro glanced towards Lance, who was poking Keith’s side. He rolled his eyes, frustration making his way to his body.

“She should be able to be mature about this, and talk it out,” Shiro stated only to meet Allura’s eyes and notice that there was something _off_ …. Allura quickly adverted her gaze and was now really interested in staring at her plate, which only made Shiro even more skeptical and-

“I’m telling myself the very same thing Takashi,” _Oh quiznack._ Pidge’s timing was perfect, wasn’t it? “You should be able to be mature about this and let me help you.”

Shiro stood up and turned around. Yes, Pidge was standing there with a now empty bowl of goo on her hands and giving him _that_ look. Also, since when has she called him Takashi? Was this related to the Katie thing?

_(Also why did that hurt him? It shouldn’t hurt, a name shouldn’t hurt right?)_

“I don’t want your help Pidge.” He only received an eye-roll from her part and that made him upset because Pidge needed to take this seriously and actually let him do something nice for like **_NOT LETTING HER NEAR HIS ARM EVER AGAIN._**

“You need it. I can-“

“Pidge!” His shout was enough to make the girl standing in front of him stop talking and look intensely at him. She almost looked scared. Almost. Because her eyes were portraying stubbornness and curiosity.

_(Shiro would never admit that that was probably the most fascinating expression he was ever seen.)_

“Your arm is glowing.”  He blinked before shooting his eyes down to his arm. His arm was starting to emit a faint purple glow and-

“Interesting. A specific release of toxins might be one of the catalysts to energizing-“before she could begin to ramble away she shook her head and met his eyes again, her hair was puffy and her glasses a little bit crooked and she looked like she was ready to do just about anything.

“I’m going to anyway.” She quickly went around him and put her plate into the sink. Pidge avoided eye contact with everyone and ran off when she reached the hallway, leaving everyone staring at Shiro.

Shiro only sighed and rubbed his temple. Pidge was driving him crazy and that by itself was an understatement.

_(Pidge was making his insides twist and turn and make him uncertain but also confident and… what the quiznack was going on with him?)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Review!!


	4. Come and Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They all attempt to fix PIdge and Shiro's relationship... however new feelings come into play this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! Happy Easter if anyone celebrates it. Please leave reviews, and thanks to those who left kudos! O and I apologize for a short chapter but it was more of a transition chapter!

Everyone noticed the tension that seemed to be present whenever Pidge and Shiro were around. Despite both of them saying they were okay and they moved on and they surely weren’t still holding grudges, it only took one tick of them being left alone in one room before Pidge walked out with a scowl, or Shiro leaving the room with his gaze down and his jaw tense.

Really, everyone figured that with some time both of them could go back to being… whatever they were. ( _Give it time and it’ll be okay, they said. They’ll figure it out on their own, they said)._ But so far, no progress has been made. Lance suggested to have a team bonding activity and force the truth out of them, this was seconded by Allura because _team bonding (!!!)._ Hunk tried to talk to both of them but they were perfect liars and gosh he really should hand it out to them because he almost believed them when they said they talked it out. Coran said that they should leave them stranded on a planet. Nothing like a life or death situation to get you working with someone else! After that, no one suggested anything.

_(Lance swore Keith was going to suggest something. Keith denied it.)_

It wasn’t until they had to form Voltron that the rest of the team noticed that ‘ _hey, this was actually becoming a very grave problem’._ Mostly because forming Voltron was bonding with all of your teammates, and that meant being able to perceive their emotions, their thoughts, their-

“Pidge, if you could stop being mad at me for one second, it would be really helpful!” Shiro shouted as he dodged one shot, covered immediately by Voltron’s sword. Shiro knew this wasn’t the moment, but it was really hard to focus on the enemy ahead when a bubble of angry emotions were in his head and Pidge’s words were muttering something but not anything he could actually comprehend.

“Oh I’m sorry, I thought you didn’t want anything that was helpful Takashi!” Pidge shouted back.

“I know you guys are mad, but if you could focus **_AT THE GIANT ROBOT THAT’S TRYING TO KILL US THEN THAT’D BE FANTASTIC!”_ ** This time it was Hunk and Lance the ones who screamed.

One giant sword, one cannon and a sonic boom later, they managed to defeat the robot and successfully make it back to the Castle.

* * *

 

“So I think I got a solution for this,” Keith stated as they all walked back to the kitchen. Pidge was fixing her glasses while the rest were behind Hunk, who was rambling about his new recipe. All of them focused their attention to the red paladin, only Lance getting what he was referring to.

“What is it?” Keith only grabbed Pidge’s hand and Shiro’s arm before dragging them back to the hangers. If Keith heard any of Pidge’s or Shiro’s cries, he ignored them. And if he looked back, he would’ve seen the grins of relief on the rest of the team’s faces.

“Red!” It seemed that his lion was already informed of whatever plan his paladin had made, so the lion only responded with a low growl.

“Thanks.” Before Pidge or Shiro could protest, they were now on the cockpit of the Red Lion with the exits locked. Pidge was the first one to react and call out to Keith.

“Keith! What the quiznack!? You-“

“Talk it out. Red will let you go once you do!” And with that, the red paladin walked away with a smug grin and closed the doors.

 “I didn’t see it coming from Keith,” Pidge stated as she sat down and brought her knees to her chest, her back against one of the walls in the room.

“Neither did I.”

Pidge looked around, finding little comfort on the cockpit. She tried to imagine it was her Green lion, then maybe it would’ve been a bit easier. Still, there was no way out and really, words weren’t such a complicated task… maybe she could give it a try.

“I’m upset.” Shiro looked up and found that Pidge was looking away from him, staring at the floor. Pidge knew it was obvious, but she didn’t know how else to start and how were you even supposed to talk this out? Still, it was a start.

“I don’t want to be, I miss the way it was between us. I just-“

“I never apologized,” he cut off. Pidge looked up and offered him a small smile, glad that he stopped her before she could begin to ramble, “-for what I said about your family. That was- I didn’t even mean it, I was just pissed off and tired and that was the only thing that crossed my mind. I’m sorry.”

Pidge let out a breath and felt lighter than she had been feeling for the past week. Maybe it was going to be okay ** _. It was going to be okay._**

“I’m sorry too. I know you don’t want us to get hurt, and I guess I pushed too far.” Shiro smiled and sat down next to her.

“I actually worked on a program for your arm, but you don’t have to try out if you don’t want,” Pidge added, fixing her glasses and hoping that she was doing this whole talking thing right. Shiro chuckled before ruffling her hair and standing up.

“Let’s go try it out.” 

Red did let them go afterwards, so they each assumed they did the talking thing right. Pidge must have sensed something from Shiro, because before they could start making their way to her lab she said, “You can call me Katie again,” she looked at Shiro before quickly averting her eyes and adding, “if you’d like.”

Shiro wouldn’t tell her that yes, he would love to. _(Katie and whatever came with that name was back, and he found himself curious as to why it meant that much to him)._

They both walked to the lab, feeling better and being able to joke and talk. But if everything was well between them, they each wondered, why did it still felt like someone was tugging at their heart?

_(Except this time it was followed by a nervous feeling and some warm bubbles and… it felt nice. It was good feeling this time.)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Review!!!! Thank you


	5. Intervention

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge and Shiro's interactions are painful to watch and their friends might start to form suspicions about what exactly is going on between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your reviews! Love them! hope you enjoy this one

Hunk, Lance and Keith were behind the kitchen counter. Hunk was trying to bake cookies while Lance kept on stealing his ingredients and eating them, only to receive a whine from Hunk. Keith was staring at Lance and holding back a smile, the red paladin wouldn’t admit how adorable Lance’s childish manners could get, (though he was sure Hunk would differ). It became a calming routine after a while, watching Hunk carefully place the ingredients and Lance eating them. But the moment of peace was interrupted the moment the other two paladins walked in.

Is not like they barged in and bought noise with them. But Keith could swear you could heard the silence and cut the tension between them with a knife.

“Is not just me right?” Lance asked as he stared at the two paladins who were sitting next to each other on the dining table. Pidge had gotten out her tools and was humming softly as she traced Shiro’s prosthetic arm and began to make some twitches.

“I thought they made up?” Keith asked. Hunk nodded and continued watching them, now leaving the ingredients alone and focusing on whatever was happening between those two. Pidge was tinkering and making some adjustments to his arm. Shiro was grinning, and staring at the girl while filling the air with some sort of story. (His smile showed that he was comfortable. Which was weird considering that Pidge was working on his arm….)

“Then why do they look awkward?”

Keith was the first one to notice that Pidge was smiling and laughing at whatever Shiro was saying. (Though he doubted it really couldn’t have been as funny as Pidge was making out to be). Pidge was also adjusting her glasses more frequently than usual, and Shiro was staring at her, only to avoid her eyes and pretend to look to his arm when she returned the gaze. He also noticed that Pidge’s cheeks were slightly tinted pink… or was that red. Though Pidge was working on his prosthetic arm, he couldn’t help but notice that his other hand was tracing the Pidge’s hand palm fondly. He widened his eyes, there was _something_ going on between those two.

“I think-“- before he could share his opinion and his observations, it seemed that Lance had already beaten him to it. Cupping his hands to his mouth, Lance yelled,

“YOU SHOULD GET A ROOM YOU TWO!!!” Keith only groaned and shook his head while Hunk averted his gaze from the now flustered paladins and back to his cooking, trying to conceal the smirk that was making its way into his face. This was definitely one way to approach the subject.

_(Lance wasn’t wrong though, watching both of them dance around each other was becoming rather frustrating to watch.)_

The reaction was almost immediate. Pidge widened her eyes and dropped one of her tools, only to quickly retrieve it, fix her glasses, and avoid looking at Shiro. Shiro, who was now furrowing his eyebrow and looking from an embarrassed Pidge to the trio.

“I thought it was fine to work here?” Shiro asked, however Pidge only cleared her throat and stood up, muttering something to Shiro before shooting a glare to Lance and leaving the room.

(Her cheeks were redder, Keith noticed. And the way she was fiddling with her tool kit only made her embarrassment seem more obvious.)

Lance chuckled at Shiro’s obliviousness. 

“That’s not what I meant Shiro,” he responded, wiggling his eyebrows. Keith hated the fact that once everything sank into Shiro’s brain and the black paladin began bushing, Lance’s grin just grew bigger and smugger.

_(Keith wouldn’t admit he liked the smile. Nope. Never.)_

Shiro made up some excuse and moments later awkwardly left the room, one of his hands scratching the back of his neck and his eyes set on the floor. Once he was out of earshot, Hunk began to chuckle, leaving the dough (or was it goo?) on the counter and wiping away the small tears that were forming on the corner of his eyes.

“That’s why it felt awkward!” His statement was only followed by a holler from Lance and a smile from Keith.

_(Crushes were awkward and seeing that happen to someone else was relaxing. But it did make Keith wonder if he looked like that when he was around Lance…. Hopefully not because judging by Pidge and Shiro, their exchange was painful to watch.)_

“I wonder how long they-“

“Is Shiro sick?” They all turned to the source of the question, only to find Allura standing there with her eyebrows raised. Keith cleared his throat, shooting a glare to Lance and motioning to stop hollering. (Whatever was happening between Shiro and Pidge was now their secret to guard, after all they were their friends).

“Why do you ask?”

“Oh, well he was red and when I asked him if he felt alright he just stuttered? Shiro never stutters.” Hunk laughed, making Allura seem all the more skeptical.

“Lance might have made a comment that made him react like that. By the looks of it, he’s still flustered.”

Allura only shook her head, her lips trying to hide the upwards curve that was forming in her lips.

“What was the comment?”

Keith widened his eyes. He was sure Shiro would not like the princess (or anyone at that matter) to know about whatever was going on between him and Pidge. Yeah, it was privacy and they all shouldn’t be divulging the information like-

“Did you know there’s something between Pidge and Shiro?” Lance blurted out, earning a soft punch from Keith. Allura only laughed, making the three boys exchange looks.

“Why are you-“

“And you guys only realized this now?” Allura turned her laughter into giggles, before rolling her eyes and smiling at the boys, “I thought it was obvious. Though at first I thought it was just Pidge. By the looks of it, Shiro is now-“

“Whoa, hold it. You knew?” Allura shrugged, bringing one of her hands to her waist.

“The mice told me they suspected something.”

“Right, the mice.” Allura chuckled, making her way towards them and taking a seat by the counter, her dress carefully in sync with her movements.

Hunk only smiled, satisfied that he was not the only one with suspicions. (Pidge really should work on being subtle.) However, it did left a very… complicated situation at their hands.

(How was it that almost everyone knew the secret except for Shiro and Pidge?)

“So, what now?” Keith turned to look at Hunk, his eyebrows raised and his lips twitching into a frown. He leaned back on the counter, placing his hands on his pockets.

“It’s their situation. We leave it alone,” he stated. Lance shrugged, wrapping an arm around Keith and leaning his body towards the boy.

“But **_should_** we leave it? We can have some fun and-“

“Keith is right. They are both adults and should be able to handle this,” Allura responded, tucking a hair strand behind her ear. Lance chuckled.

“Adults? I managed to fluster both of them with one comment.”

Hunk wanted to defend his friend, however Lance’s comment was right _. (It was hilarious and very true though.)_ Also he was sure Pidge was very off when it came to feelings. Give her a computer, and she could give you anything you might ever want in your life. Give her emotions and she would either stomp over them or try to return them and never get them back. Yes, Hunk wasn’t sure how exactly Pidge was planning on handling this.

And Shiro? He was clueless about how the guy processed emotions. Much less any infatuation. Yes, this was a recipe for disaster.

“We should give them time. If we see no progress, then we step in,” Allura added.

_(Allura wouldn’t admit that she was, in fact, very excited about this. She could finally be able to bond with Pidge. Talk about feelings, and romantic interests (!!!), and probably even help the green paladin with her love life. Yes, this was certainly very exciting!)_

“Fine,” Lanced groaned, followed by a hum of agreement from Keith and a nod from Hunk. Allura clapped her hands and grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Review! (and or leave kudos? Both make me happy!)


	6. Caught in your Arms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge was beginning to think she was sick.... and whatever sickness she had only came when she was with Shiro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your comments. I like them!! (Also that one user who wrote the song form Beauty and the Beast, kudos to you XD) Anyway hope you like this chapter, probably one of my favorite to write!

Pidge knew there was something wrong with her the moment she began working on his arm. Every time she touched it, it made her skin tingle. That was probably a bad sign. (Maybe there was some sort of electricity that got transferred?) It wasn’t just that though, it was the fact that every time she worked with him, she ended up being able to look at him up close. Really close. Which somehow made her feel sick and nauseous but also excited. _(She knew Shiro was attractive, that was obvious for anyone who had common sense. But it never really affected her…. at least not in this scale)._

It got worse the longer she worked on his arm. Pidge would find him looking at her, (was he even looking at her? Did she have something on her face?), and she just felt like… like melting. Her cheeks also decided to work on autopilot and get red. Pidge only prayed that Shiro wasn’t observant and he wouldn’t notice how her body seemed to flat out turn against her, (as if it was malfunctioning). She hated the fact that she didn’t even know exactly what was causing this, and that every single malfunction her body had happened when Shiro was near her. It happened **_because of Shiro_** , and she didn’t like it.

Pidge came up with different hypothesis. She really did.

  1. _She ate something and she is sick_
  2. _She was poisoned and she is sick_
  3. _She has a weird fever and is therefore sick_
  4. _~~Maybe she had feelings for-~~_



Pidge found out that she was not sick. The food was all healthy and her body was in great shape. She even ran an analysis and found out that her body was not lacking anything. She watched Hunk cook their food too, and she was absolutely positive that no poison was on her system. Pidge asked Allura about common symptoms for Altean diseases, and according to the information she had, Pidge was healthy. (And for the first time, Pidge found herself wishing she was sick because at least then she would have an explanation and a cure….) So that left her with option number 4.

She refused to look at option number 4.

_(She wouldn’t even think about it. Option 4 required emotions and talking and- Option 4 was definitely not what she wanted to handle. Option 4 required Shiro in it too, and she wasn’t ready to give that much power to someone. Option 4 was complicated)_

_(But what if-)_

Pidge continued to not even acknowledge Option 4.

* * *

 

Pidge laughed as she walked down to the hangars with Shiro. She felt her laughter echo, probably because she was still wearing her helmet and suit, just like Shiro. Allura had send them to check something outside the ship, and while it wasn’t supposed to take a long time, it did.

_(Space is very trickery. The moment you think you have it under control, that’s the moment when space reminds you that you definitely **don’t.** )_

Shiro had explained to her that his lion needed some repairs and had asked her if she could work on it. Pidge had nodded and told him she would get working on it as soon as they got back from Allura’s request.

As they walked to where Shiro’s lion was, Shiro was telling her of some of the stories he recalled from his days back in Garrison. (He truly didn’t have a lot of stories to share, since he didn’t like getting in trouble. At least not compared to the one in which Pidge hacked into the government and almost got caught). But Shiro felt proud of himself when he realized that he was making Pidge laugh, his stories making her snicker and chuckle.

He felt his heart skip a beat when she stopped laughing and share a brief glance with him, only shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

Shiro looked at the girl, whose laughter faded and only left a smile plastered on her face. Shiro didn’t even realize he was smiling too until he saw his reflection on her helmet (nor the fact that they were already in the hangars with His lion close by). However the moment he stopped looking at his reflection and looked through the helmet’s glass, he realized that Pidge had widened her eyes and was reaching towards him.

_Huh that’s-_

He felt himself trip over something and make his way down. _(So that’s why Pidge looked like that.)_ He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the impact and thanking himself for the fact that he was wearing his suit. However the impact never came. Instead he found himself on the arms of Pidge, who had a cocky grin on her face. He was being dipped by Pidge. He couldn’t seem to breathe fast enough and his cheeks were on fire.

_He was being dipped by Pidge._

His embarrassment was cut short when he heard Pidge laugh and stare at him, biting her bottom lip and her eyes filled with joy. Shiro heard himself laugh too, only stopping when he saw that Pidge was catching her breath.

Shiro realized he was staring, but what surprised him was that Pidge also kept her gaze connected to his. It allowed him to actually look at her up close and past her helmet and notice the little things he never realized where there. Like those small freckles, and a scar on the top right corner of her forehead, and the long eyelashes she had. Shiro was breathless, and for a moment he swore that maybe she had leaned closer? He cursed the fact that they were both wearing helmets because then he could have probably been closer to her. Maybe touch her cheek, rest his forehead against hers, touch her hair, they could’ve kissed and-

He widened his eyes at his thought, inhaling a sharp breath.

 _(Kiss. That’s… that’s definitely a new thought_.)

Yet, before either of them could do anything but stare, they heard Hunk’s voice ring through the room, startling both of them.

“Hey Shiro I was-“ both of them turned to look at the entrance, where Hunk was standing wide-eyed and with his jaw opened. (Shiro couldn’t seem to figure out how he didn’t hear Hunk’s steps or the door opening.)

“Quiznack, am I interrupting something? I mean, by the looks of it-“ The rest of the sentence became a  mumbles, however the eye contact shared between the trio was never broken.

Pidge’s first reaction was to curse. Her second one was to fix her glasses, which meant that she let go of Shiro, which made the boy fall into the floor. A loud thump echoed through the room, and Shiro swore to have heard Hunk chuckle. _Great._

“Quiznack! Sorry Shiro, I-“ Pidge heard Hunk’s chuckles coming from where he was standing, only for the boy to receive a scowl from the green paladin.

Shiro stood up, taking off his helmet and avoiding eye-contact with the girl next to him. He didn’t want to think about the fact that Hunk saw whatever was happening between them. He could see from the corner of his eye that Pidge was taking off her helmet too, her hair resembling a lion’s mane. Shiro felt his lips curving upwards as he stared at her and realized that _he still wanted to kiss her_.

_(Which he would need to think about later. Later when he wasn’t as flustered and he could clearly think about what exactly happened. Because something did, right? Shiro hoped it wasn’t just him.)_

“Did you need something Hunk?” Shiro asked as he ran a hand through his hair and tried to ignore the knot that was forming in his stomach with the new-found revelation.

“Oh right! Coran needed your help on determining the next destination along with some new system for the castle.” Shiro nodded, walking towards Hunk and not daring to look back at Pidge.

_(If he looked back, chances are that he would just melt. Or die. Probably both.)_

Once Shiro was out of the hangars, Hunk was quick to follow, closing the doors as he stepped out. (Not before sending a wink towards Pidge, only to watch her growl at him before turning on her heels.) As they were now on the hall, silence hanging between them, Hunk chuckled.  Watching Shiro avoid his gaze and noticing how his cheeks were tinted a dark pink, Hunk wasn’t sure what exactly he had interrupted.  

Judging by the way both of the paladins had reacted, and if the color of their cheeks were anything to go by, Allura and Keith might have been right about this situation.

(“They are both adults and they should be able to handle this”.)

_Well, they are handling it, alright._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> review please!!


	7. the One where Allura appears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura tries to bond with Pidge... this might or might not lead to some new information...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry, i meant to update a couple of days ago but i had a ceremony. also i guess today I have a date? (this girl is asked me out and like... in a friednly way or in a gay way? idk)  
> Anyway, enjoy!

When the mice told Allura what happened back in the hangars, the princess couldn’t help but squeal. She knew it was just a matter of time before some progress was visible! And man, they worked fast. Pidge was already dipping Shiro and almost kissing him. Allura had to hand it to her, that girl worked fast.

However the next day, Allura realized that Pidge hadn’t actually planned on doing any of that. Or Shiro. In fact, it was an accident (a great one, she had to add) that left them in that position. (She figured it out because Shiro was acting awkward and she sensed Pidge’s nervousness from a mile away. They didn’t have it under control. Not one bit.)

As she stood in the dining room, quietly eating the food goo that Coran had prepared, Allura kept on glancing at Shiro and Pidge. She narrowed her eyes, clearing her throat before putting on a nice smile.

“So Pidge, did you manage to work on Shiro’s lion?”

Allura noticed how Pidge almost choked on her food and how Shiro immediately shoved another spoonful into his mouth. She also noted how Hunk’s lips were curving upwards. Interesting.

“Um, yes I did. It was quite easy to fix actually. It only needed some rewiring and reset a certain function.” Allura hummed in response, her lips curving upwards and her chin resting on the palm of her hand.

“It’s good it wasn’t _dipped_ into water or something, right Shiro?” This time it was Hunk questioning Shiro with a smirk. The black paladin only looked up, his eyes narrowing. (Allura observed Shiro’s cheeks turning a darker shade and the fact that he didn’t form a response).

The princess then turned her attention to the green paladin, who was now too interested in her food. Allura was about to comment on it when Pidge met her eyes and shot her a questioning look. Allura only shook her head and shot her a smile.

_(Allura swore she saw skepticism cross Pidge’s eyes before disappearing and being replaced by serenity)._

“Well, great goo as always. I’ll be working on my lion if anyone needs me!” Pidge shouted as she stood up and strolled out to the hall. (Pidge was great at avoiding social interaction, Allura noted). It wasn’t much later that everyone else dismissed themselves and made their way to different parts of the castle. Allura wasn’t able to catch up to Shiro and try to get something out of him…

Allura stood up and hesitated on her next move. She couldn’t straight out play matchmaker, she was far from being subtle in these sort of cases. But she could help Pidge on a personal level, giving her advice and such. Like a friend confining on one another.

_(Allura also felt that that way they could even become closer. Sharing personal things was probably classified as a bonding activity, right?)_

She walked through the halls, humming a song as she found the way to the paladin’s work place. Once she did, she found Pidge sitting on the floor, her tools spread out and typing furiously into her computer. Allura cleared her throat before entering. Pidge only looked up for a second before going back to her lap top.

“Can I help you Allura?” Allura glanced around before managing to sit down on a spot fairly close to Pidge. She was careful not to tug at any part of the dress.

_(Pidge noticed this, and she really didn’t have any words to describe how graceful Allura was even at the most simple activities. Like sitting down on the floor.)_

“Not quite. I was bored and I realized that maybe we could talk.” Pidge stopped and looked up.

“About what?”

“Oh! Well, like friends do! You know, funny stories, embarrassing moments, things you want, crushes…” Pidge furrowed her eyebrow before shrugging.

“Sure. Though I have to warn you, I have awful stories.” Allura felt herself smile as Pidge shot her a smirk.

_Victory!_

* * *

 

An hour later Allura found herself unable to breathe from laughter. Pidge was a mix of chuckles and snorts, pushing her glasses up as more laughter made its way to her body. If this is what having a friend like Pidge was like, Allura loved it. Allura had just finished sharing one of her stories, and Pidge’s commentaries were making the princess lose all composure.

“Allura, you are amazing!” Allura stopped and glanced up. She would be lying if she said that those words didn’t hit a special spot and made her heart feel warm.

“You are pretty amazing too Pidge.” The paladin only shrugged and continued working on the small device that had been discarded on the floor, shaking her head and smiling.

Allura sighed as she got herself on a more comfortable position. She was now behind Pidge, grabbing the paladin’s puffy hair and making small braids.  Pidge liked the feeling of someone else playing with her hair, Lance used to do it and it always reminded her of her family for some reason.

“You know, I remember that when I was like 10 I had a crush on this girl. Now that I looked back, I probably wasn’t very subtle about it either. I embarrassed myself countless times,” Allura recalled with a soft laugh. Pidge stopped typing and chuckled. Allura’s crushes stories were her favorite thing now, but Pidge wouldn’t admit how some of them hit close home.

_(Pidge remembered her stupid crushes that seemed time-consuming and ever so important back then. They all ended up being awkward messes, but she was happy to recall that she didn’t let anything go unsaid)_

“Do you have anyone back on earth you like Pidge?” Pidge felt the weird sensation on her stomach return. It also came with her heart beginning to beat faster and an image of a certain boy. Pidge felt fingers begin to tremble. She took a deep breath, hoping that her answer wouldn’t come out as a stutter.

“Not on Earth. No.” Allura hummed.

“So on space?” Pidge shook her head, closing her lap top and closing her eyes as well. The feeling of Allura’s fingers on her hair was relaxing, and it made her feel a bit less nervous to confess this to her.

“It doesn’t matter. Space is not a good place to fall in love.” The rest remained unsaid, (being in the middle of a war, being part of Voltron, being in constant danger, and being part of a search for your family… none of them were good conditions for someone to fall in love.

_(And yet Pidge did so anyway)_

Allura’s laughter filled the air.

“What are you talking about?! Space is probably the best place to fall in love!” this time Pidge couldn’t help but also chuckle.

“Are you hearing yourself right now Allura?” Pidge heard Allura’s content hum follow her question.

“So, what I’m getting is that you **_do_** like someone,” Allura asked. Pidge shrugged.

“Doesn’t matter. Chances are really scarce of him liking me back. Plus I was never good at this emotion thing. And I’m not sure that we would even work out. I think it’d be easier to just move on, after all-“

“Who is it?” Pidge turned around, making the strand of hair was becoming a braid come undone.

“I-“ Allura sensed the discomfort coming from the girl. And after realizing that the girl wasn’t going to tell her, Allura stood up, fixing her dress and patting the girl’s head before heading to the exit hoping that maybe she didn’t made her too uncomfortable. (She wouldn’t like to upset Pidge and become unable to have this sort of friendship moments with her again…) Before she could open the door, she heard Pidge call out after her.

“Shiro. It’s him. It’s stupid, I know. I-“ Allura smiled once Pidge met her eyes.

“Thanks for letting me know Pidge.” This earned a soft smile from the green paladin. As Pidge began to get back to working on her project (she was close to getting a program for the new upgrades on her lion!), she glanced up one last time to where Allura was standing.

The princess was out, and the doors were closing behind her, however before she could disappear behind them, Allura turned around and said,

“You know Pidge, maybe it isn’t as impossible as you think it is.”

And with that the doors closed and the princess was gone, leaving Pidge with wide eyes and her glasses almost falling off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> review please!


	8. This is why you don't fall in love in space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hainvg feeling is weird. And ocmplicated. Its even worse when you are in space and you feel like your heart is breaking and there's nowhere to go because you are in space.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoy this chapter! Next chapter is hilarious and I'm sure you'll like it! Anyway thanks for kudos, and the reviews!

 Shiro hated the fact that he couldn’t act normal around Pidge anymore. Normal went out the castle and into space the moment he was dipped by Pidge. Now all he could think about when he looked her way was about that moment, and how close they were and the fact that he had wanted to kiss her.

_Kiss her._

The thought never ceased to surprise him. However, Shiro realized he probably should’ve seen it coming. It certainly explained a lot about the Katie and Takashi thing. It didn’t make it any easier for him to actually admit that he might have… feelings for the green paladin. In fact, it was horribly hard and an awful task. Shiro was in love with her. He knew this but was too stubborn to admit it.

But he wasn’t stubborn enough to deny the fact that _he wanted to kiss her (along with the fact that he just couldn’t)._

And every single time Pidge was around him he could only find one more thing to fall in love with and he absolutely hated (loved) it. One smile from her could light up his whole day. But it also made him nervous about seeing her again and like he’d noticed before, he couldn’t just _be normal_ around her. How was he supposed to act normal when everything about her was mesmerizing and beautiful… and **_he wanted to kiss her_**.

Quiznack.

This was getting more complicated by the minute and he had no idea how to handle this.

 So far he managed to avoid bumping into her, and avoided eye-contact with her at all times. Until he learned how to control his thoughts and maybe make his heart beat a little slower at the sight of her, avoiding one on one’s with Pidge was his priority.

However, dinner was a thing. A thing that Pidge was part of and he couldn’t walk away from without arising suspicion from the rest of their friends.

As they all sat to eat the meal Hunk had prepared them, Shiro made sure to keep himself busy on serving the plates. When they were ready to go, they all sat down to eat and Shiro just wanted something to distract himself with before he could get a chance to stare at Pidge. Lance was taking up most of the conversation, challenging Keith to different things along with bragging about his adventures back in the academy. Coran was talking to Hunk about new ingredients, both of them invested into their conversation. Allura seemed to be in deep thought, her eyes staring at the plate in front of her and her head resting on her hand. And Pidge, Pidge was petting the mice, cooing and chuckling whenever they would do a trick in front of her.

He widened his eyes when Pidge turned around and found him staring at her. _(There goes his goal of not staring at her_ ). He only shot her a small smile before darting his eyes back to his plate. He could sense Pidge opening her mouth to say something, but thank god Allura beat her to it.

“I was thinking Pidge,” the girl turned her attention to the princess, the mice now running to Allura and sitting down in front of her, “you should flirt with him.”

Pidge began chocking, only for Hunk to quickly pat her back and hand her a glass of water. And of course, it was the exact moment that Lance began to pay attention to their conversation, his eyes narrowing and a cocky grin on his face. Pidge’s cheek were now burning as she darted her eyes back to Allura. Even Keith was smirking and leaning forward to not miss a thing that was being said.

“What?” 

_Yes, Shiro was asking himself the same thing. Flirt with him? With who? She was referring to Pidge right?_

“A direct approach might be the best way to-“

“Who’s the lucky guy Pidge!?” Lance asked in a singsong tone, leaning forward and moving his eyebrows up and down, making Keith snicker.

“He’s not lucky and he’s no one,” she growled, her lips in a pout. Shiro wanted to argue, anyone who had Pidge’s love was extremely lucky. Hunk was the next one to talk,

“Oh come on Pidge, flirt? I’m sure you already have him head over heels for you!” Pidge only let her head fall into the table, her hands immediately covering her ears.

_( **I’m** already head over heels for you, Shiro thought to himself.)_

“I’m done with all of you,” she grumbled.

Keith only rolled his eyes and leaned back into his chair, switching his attention to Allura.

“Allura, flirt with who?” Pidge snapped her head up and jumped across the table to cover Allura’s mouth, her eyes filled with panic. Her sudden jump made the whole table shake and made the mice jump away. Pidge was sure that Allura mumbled something under her hands, and that was all she needed to let go.

“Is not my place to tell,” Allura responded calmly, her gaze lingering a second too long on Shiro.

_(Keith noticed this and he wondered how Allura managed to get the information out of Pidge… willingly at least.)_

Shiro would be lying if he said he was okay with how this conversation was going. Pidge liked someone? That never really crossed his mind, which maybe was selfish of him. Maybe she had someone back on Earth, someone who was waiting for her. The thought itself made his chest ache.

“Is he on earth?” He asked before he could stop himself. All eyes were on him now, Pidge looking as if she had just seen a ghost. Was it a personal question? It probably was, wasn’t it? Pidge felt her head begin to spin because could this really get any worse? Shiro was asking if her crush was on Earth when all she wanted to admit was that her crush was in fact on the same Castle as her and sitting right where he was. _(Pidge realized that she could tell him everything, right now and right here. She didn’t.)_

“Umm, no. He’s- he’s not on earth.” She coughed awkwardly, making sure to avoid looking at Shiro. Shiro only nodded, standing up and preparing to leave the room because this conversation was now playing all over his head and he was sure if he didn’t get out of the room he was going to somehow make a fool out of himself. Just as he was making his way out of the room, he heard Lance ask her,

“Oh, I think I might know who. Is it-“ Shiro couldn’t hear the rest of the question, and he certainly couldn’t go back because that would’ve been too obvious.

_(Not because of the fact that if it wasn’t his name he probably would be in a lot of pain. Not at all)_

* * *

 

_So._

_Quiznack._

He was probably doomed.

And it hurt like hell. That’s why you don’t fall in love in space. Because other people, (Pidge), are in love with other people (mysterious person in space) and are planning on flirting with them. Shiro couldn’t stop thinking about it. Pidge liked someone and it wasn’t him. At least he was very sure it wasn’t him.

The worst thing wasn’t the fact that Pidge didn’t like him, or that his love was unrequited. No. It was the fact that he couldn’t help but keep on loving her _anyway._ Moving on should’ve been faster in his opinion, after all, wasn’t it human instinct to move away from something that hurts you?

But apparently he didn’t get the memo and despite knowing Pidge had her heart saved for someone special, he was in love with her despite of it.

Talk about unrequited love and bad timing.

The next day didn’t prove to be any easier. Not at all. Pidge was everywhere, fixing dinner, having a sparring match with Keith, joking with Lance and Shiro just couldn’t find one place where he couldn’t see the girl.  He just kept on finding her. He kept on repeating to himself that it was justified to feel the need to walk away from her, however each time she waved at him or even call his name, Shiro was back to square one.

The painful, aching square one.

The ache was still there, loud and beating against his chest and Pidge was smiling at him like there was nothing wrong. (He couldn’t blame her, _she didn’t know_.)

But.

He hated this.

He hated this situation and falling in love and loving Pidge.

 ** _This is why you don’t fall in love in space,_** he thought as he marched away from the hall and into his room.

“I love her,” Shiro muttered to himself. He already knew it but saying it out loud made it a thousand times scarier.

_(Because at this moment, there just wasn’t enough space between her and his emotions)._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> review please!


	9. Flirting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge blamed Allura for this. She was the one who planted this idea on her mind. (that and the lack of caffeine...)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry, got caught up studying for AP exams! Hope you like this chapter and leave reviews please!

**Chapter 9**

Pidge thought it was just her brain making her paranoid, but every time she entered a room, Shiro would make up some excuse and leave. Every time she looked and waved at him, he would look away and then disappear. And every time she tried to talk with him, Shiro managed to sneak away.

But maybe he was busy, maybe she always caught him at the wrong moment, or he was just feeling sick or nervous or…. Her brain stopped coming up with reasons to justify his absence. Instead, it just left a small void on her daily routine. It ached her. Was it her fault? She probably did something wrong and didn’t notice it and now Shiro thinks she is being rude and-

Pidge didn’t like that her paranoia was getting the best of her.

It became worse after that dinner. The one where Allura suggested to flirt and everyone began to question her and… Pidge came to the conclusion that Shiro figured it out. Shiro knew she was in love with him and now he was avoiding her because he didn’t feel the same way.

Except…

That wasn’t something Shiro would do. He would insist to talk it out and make up with her and avoid exactly what was happening now. So yeah, Pidge knew he probably didn’t figure it out. Shiro was avoiding her, but it wasn’t because she was hopelessly in love with him and she knew it was unrequited. It was because of something else then, which left two questions for her.

_What exactly did she do that made Shiro become distant?_

_And was the boy as oblivious as Keith was to Lance?_

* * *

 

Pidge knew her brain sometimes ran too fast for her own good. Sometimes she would think about an amazing upgrade, but she would have nowhere to write it and she couldn’t catch up with what exactly her brain was coming up with. Pidge would then have to think for hours before the idea and its details came back and she was able to write it out.

Sometimes her brain would assume things too fast, and that would delay her reaction because she would need to make herself contradict her brain and then come up with an actual solution. It would take twice the time to solve a problem.

And lastly, it didn’t happen often, but sometimes her brain would make her react on instinct. Like formulate words and say them before she had a chance to process if she actually wanted to tell them out loud. She would ramble out loud when she got nervous, or make rash decisions (mostly on her devices) on instinct. It never ended nicely. Unlike Keith, her instincts always suggested stupid non-heroic things.

Which was why, when she found herself in the kitchen along with Shiro, who was searching for some food, her brain decided to start formulating words. It really wasn’t her fault that Shiro didn’t run away when she was in the kitchen (though it probably was because he didn’t notice her) and that he was stretching to reach something on a shelf before coming back down and his shirt showed just a tiny bit of skin plus Pidge didn’t have coffee that morning and the conversation with Allura was still playing in her head…. Pidge leaned against the counter, smiling and before she knew what exactly she was about to do, her mouth was already talking.

“Are you lap top charger?  Because without you, I’d die.”

Shiro immediately turned around, his cheeks now crimson and his eyes dilated and gosh he looked so good right now and-

Pidge felt her heart beating a thousand miles per hour and her hands beginning to sweat. She still had that cocky grin on her face, except that at this moment she knew it was still there only because she couldn’t react. She didn’t mean to say **_that_** out loud. Not in a billion years.

This.

This was bad.

She continued to stare at Shiro, her brain rushing and running and spinning while her heart was flipping. Shiro had his jaw opened slightly, his hands gripping the handle of the cabinet he was scouting in. Well, at least he was still as shocked as her.

Pidge was going to **_die._**

“Did you-“ before she could let Shiro finish, she got off her seat and rushed towards the exit.

“Bye!”

And that was it. Pidge was now going to prepare her funeral and bury herself.  

_(Not before telling Allura that her plan didn’t work. That her plan had, in fact, been the cause of her death.)_

* * *

 

Shiro.exe has stopped working.

He… did he imagine it? He must have! Pidge just said... Pidge just used a pick up line on him….. **_PIDGE USED A PICK UP LINE ON HIM_**

Shiro didn’t even realize he was holding in his breath until he felt his lungs begging for an intake of air. Everything was going too fast for him right now. Pidge. Used. A. Pick Up Line.

He was a lost cause. Right there and then, he admitted, moving on was not going to happen. Not when Pidge just said that to him and then proceeded to make him melt and freeze at the same time. While he was dying on the spot, Pidge was staring at him with a cocky grin. Pidge looked smug and it wasn’t until he attempted to say something that Pidge ran away. (Did she not meant to say that? She seemed really confident when she did though… unless- No. Shiro refused to let this die.)

Shiro was done for and- he smiled when her phrase ran over his head again.

_‘Are you a computer? Because without you, I’d die’_

Shiro laughed then, forgetting about the snack he was going to get, running a hand through his hair carelessly. Leave it to Pidge to manage to flirt and compare him to a computer all in one statement. He loved that girl.

Shiro left the kitchen with a smile on his face. The constant ache that had been there since that dinner was barely noticeable, instead he just felt… _warm._

* * *

 

Pidge was being childish. At least that’s what she kept scolding at herself every day as she managed to avoid Shiro. This was very immature of her and she should be able to talk it out… (Huh that reminded her of something had Shiro said before).

Yet, how could she show her face again after she dropped a pick up line (and a bad one at that) and then ran away? How? I’ll wait for you to answer….. That’s right. She couldn’t. Her brain hadn’t come up with a solution but it did come up with a thousand more pick-up lines that could have been better than the one she said. (Not like she was going to use them. No. never.)

_(Option 4 was still there hanging in the back of her head…. And by now it was too late to deny that she didn’t like it or that it was false.)_

At this point, maybe she should invent a device to make her (or Shiro, either one works) lose the memory of that atrocious incident. That wasn’t a bad idea, she could definitely look into the science of that. It certainly seemed easier to accomplish than a normal conversation with Shiro. Or get control of her emotions and act normal and rationally.

Now that she thought about it, normal wasn’t there anymore. Normal was now long gone and it started that day in the hangars. Pidge cursed at herself for not noticing earlier and plotting the dots. She hated the fact that maybe she could have avoided this if she had just let him fall that day. (But would it have made it worse or better? One thing was for sure, this better be the only reality in which she threw a bad pick up line at him.)

“Pidge?” She glanced up from her computer and towards the door of her room, where Allura was standing. Pidge opened her door and let her in, her chair squeaking as she readjusted her sitting position.

“You’ve been avoiding Shiro,” Allura stated as she sat down on the paladin’s bed. The princess noticed that it seemed brand new, which confirmed her suspicions of Pidge rarely sleeping in her own bed. The paladin had the tendency to fall sleep either on her work place or on the couch.

“What? I haven’t-“ Pidge met Allura’s eyes and sighed. It was probably futile to try to deny something she knew for a fact she was in constant practice of. (It would be as stupid as denying that Hunk didn’t like food or Keith didn’t like Lance.)

“Pidge, every time he enters a room, a second later you leave it.” Pidge shrugged. So Allura had noticed. Had Allura noticed when Shiro was avoiding her too? Had Shiro been questioned by her? Probably not, and that wasn’t fair.

“What happened?” Pidge spun her chair around, now glaring at Allura.

“It’s your fault really.” Allura gasped, amusement in her eyes as she pointed to herself.

_(Pidged cursed at Allura’s graceful hand movements)_

“My fault!? How is it-“

“I flirted with him and-“ Pidge had to cover her ears when she heard the loud, piercing squeal come and fill the room.  

“What did you say!?”

“Something that shall never be said ever again!”

“It couldn’t have been that bad!”

“It was. Now Allura, if you don’t mind I was working on something.” Pidge spun her chair back to her desk, not wanting the princess to watch her cheeks grow roses on them nor the fact that she was beginning to get sweaty at the thought of what happened.

“Oh, but I had more advice!” Pidge rolled her eyes. Screw advice, what she needed now was a memory-eraser machine.

“Allura, no thanks.” She heard Allura shuffle and stand up.

“You won’t be able to avoid him forever.” Pidge only darted her eyes to her and smirked, satisfied at the skeptical expression that made its way to the princess’ face.

“Try me.” And with that, Allura walked out of her room with her jaw hanging open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Review please!


	10. Perfect Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge is avoiding Shiiro. Shiro is tired of being avoided... and Greenie is a master at getting her paladin to admit stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heeyyyy well this is the last chapter so i hope you enjoy it! Thanks for those who read this story and well, i hope you like the ending. Like always, review!

Shiro could deal with this. He was sure that any moment now, he could come up with a plan to talk with Pidge. You know, like normal, mature people who could talk out whatever problems they were facing. He was just having set-backs. Momentarily setbacks that he could easily fix. Maybe. Shiro was going to persist though, after all communication and patience where the key.

Communication was proving to be hard though, when Pidge couldn’t even stay a second after he entered a room.  (Communication involved more than one party talking, ex: Shiro **_and_** Pidge. Not just him).

And Patience proved to be an obstacle because he just wanted to be with her! For more than a minute! It was getting frustrating and very tiring. Couldn’t he just skipped to the part where everything worked out?

It didn’t take long for the black paladin to realize that managing to be alone with Pidge was definitely a challenge. Pidge turned out to be quick and sneaky, and Shiro admitted to himself that she was very good at avoiding him. Shiro wasn’t going to give up though. If he was able to invade a space ship, battle an army, and pilot a robotic lion, then he could certainly manage to just talk with Pidge.

_(Plus he wasn’t going to give up after what Pidge told him the other day back in the kitchen. Not when there was still hope that maybe the green paladin felt the same way. Very improbable, but there was still a small chance of that happening, right?)_

His opportunity to do so came by a day later, when he was walking to the hangars to hang out with his lion, much to his delight. Shiro was going to spend some time alone and try to get himself to clear his mind. Shiro knew none of the paladins hung out in the hangars, so when he saw Allura walked out from that hall, he was certainly surprised.

_(If he was going to bump into someone, it was probably Pidge. What, with her constant upgrades to the lions and whatnot.)_

Allura flashed him a smile as she walked past him, stopping quickly by his side and pointing to his destination.

“Pidge is working there. You might be able to catch her if you are quick enough!” She whispered before turning around and leaving him there. Before Shiro could ask how did Allura know about his struggle to find Pidge, he was already absent-mindedly quickening his pace. His footsteps were quick yet stealthy, silently reaching the door of the hangars.

It was a surprise to find it open, only for him to peek inside and see Pidge crouched down, laying on the snout of her lion. He smiled as he walked over to where she was, hearing her talk out loud.

“I don’t think Allura gets it, it’s hard you know?” A purr reverberated along the walls of the room as Pidge petted her friend with one hand and drew invisible constellations with her other hand.

“Plus, even if I do stop avoiding him, then-“

“Then what?” Shiro asked, now standing a few feet away from her. Pidge sat up, her glasses falling off as she did so.

Shiro managed to catch them before they could hit the ground. After a small _‘thump’_ he realized Pidge was now in front of him, her hand rubbing the back of her neck. He noticed that she didn’t answer his question. In fact, she completely dismissed it.

“Well, I was just going now, so-“  before she could take a step away, her lion was already lifting her and Shiro, its jaw carefully gripping their shirts and lifting them up a few feet in the air. Shiro only looked down and back to the lion, who seemed to be sitting down, pleased with itself, its snout high in the air.

_(Well, this was not what he planned but at least now Pidge had to talk to him. Is not like there was any other alternative at this moment.)_

“Green! Put me down!” Pidge grumbled, making useless attempts to get down and kicking her legs. Judging by the looks of it, Shiro was sure that her lion was communicating with Pidge via their bond. At the end, Pidge ended up letting out a sigh and crossing her arms over her chest, feet still dangling.

Shiro wondered what conversation she just had and what exactly made her change her mind. _(And how Green managed to win against Pidge’s stubbornness.)_

“So,”

“So.”

“You’ve been avoiding me.” Pidge darted her eyes at him, then looked away. She really had no place to hide, not when her lion wouldn’t let her go unless she had a decent talk with Shiro.

“You avoided me first,” she retorted. Shiro shrugged.

“I guess I did.”

“Why? I mean, I didn’t meant to make you uncomfortable that day. But, I’m not sure why you began to avoid me, and I just wanted us to go back to normal.” It was at that moment that her lion decided to yawn, dropping them both on the floor. Pidge prayed that this was it, she wouldn’t need to say anything else and everything would be okay. (Well, she would still probably like him but their friendship would be restored and that was some sort of win, right?)

Pidge could feel the lion’s amusement through their bond. She stood up, Shiro now standing in front of her, handing her the glasses she had dropped at the beginning of the conversation. She muttered a thanks and put them on.

“I avoided you because I can’t go back to _normal_ ,” Shiro whispered. Pidge widened her eyes, and prayed that Shiro wasn’t telling her that their friendship was over. (She wouldn’t be able to handle that.) Shiro met her eyes, his hand on the back of his head and his cheeks now red.

“I like you Pidge.” Pidged only furrowed her eyebrows, tilting her head.

“I like you too Shiro but-“

“No, I mean as in romantically. I like you _that_ way.”

_(There, he said it. She knew it now and even though he was sure Pidge was able to hear his heart beat, he felt weightless and free. And nervous, so very nervous.)_

Pidge’s brain stopped working. It stopped working after the word ‘romantically’ left his lips. Her lips had parted and she desperately wanted to yell ‘ ** _KISS ME I LIKE YOU TOO!!! I LIKE YOU TOO!’_** Except that her voice had left her and any thought she had about formulating a sentence was long gone. Her brain decided to slow down for the first time in her life.

 As the silence stretched longer, Shiro felt his heart sink. Pidge was just staring at him. Not saying anything. It was very unsettling because he just wanted an answer…. He considered on maybe apologizing and just walking away, not wanting to make Pidge feel uncomfortable or forced to say it back.

“Same,” she responded breathlessly. Shiro blinked, a smile tugging at his lips. Pidge shook her head, her cheeks now pink.

“I mean, I like you too! Romantically. A lot, actually. That’s what I meant with the same thing,” she muttered, her hands fidgeting with her sweater.

Shiro laughed then, his heart soaring. Pidge couldn’t help but laugh too, feeling lighter and warm. It was… a new feeling that came with his confession. It was like the first time she went into space. Exciting, scary, exhilarating, breathless… and perfect.  

 _Shiro liked her_. She liked him. It was a completed equation, and it was okay. It was more than okay! She was going to have to thank her lion and work on amazing upgrades for the rest of her life.

“What now?” She asked, smiling. _(She felt her cheeks heat up, but it didn’t matter because Shiro’s cheeks were red too and she was more than happy to see him like this.)_

“I’d like to kiss you. If that’s okay?” Pidge chuckled, eagerly nodding at his response. Shiro took a step towards her, and found himself tripping backwards because _of course Pidge had to leave her tools scattered on the floor._

And once again, he didn’t hit the ground. Once again, Pidge was holding him, not letting him fall, her signature grin on her face. And once again, Shiro could notice everything about Pidge.

_(Her hair, her faint freckles, her faded scars, and the sparkles in her eyes)_

There was only one difference this time.

This time, they weren’t wearing helmets. And this time he was sure he wasn’t imagining Pidge leaning forward. And he was definitely sure he wasn’t imagining when Pidge pressed her lips against his… Shiro responded instantly, one of his hands tracing circles on her cheeks. Her lips were soft and small and like a matching puzzle piece against his. Pidge felt her glasses ride up her nose, and if it wasn’t for the fact that she knew she was holding Shiro up, her legs would have given out. Kissing him was making her melt. The way their lips connected was so clumsy, and uncoordinated, and _perfect._ So very perfect.

Pidge felt him smile against the kiss, and soon enough both of them had to break the kiss because of their grins. That was probably the best reason to break a kiss, because you can’t help but smile.

_Yes, this was perfect._

* * *

 

_(After few more kisses, a pick up line from Shiro, and a push from Pidge’s Lion, they made it out of the hangars, hand in hand. Both of them having love-struck grins, with a sparkle on their eyes. Later, when they entered the kitchen they would find Allura and the rest of their friends grinning at them. Pidge would find herself being hugged to death by Allura, and teased by Lance. Shiro would receive the ‘I told you so’ look from Keith along with a smirk, plus a mandatory if-you-hurt her speech from Hunk, followed by a cheer. Neither Pidge nor Shiro would admit that they loved it. All of it.)_


End file.
